Staying home

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Home is where people want to be, said Wesway’s Carol Neff.

"What we keep hearing is seniors really want to be able to remain in their own homes and families truly want to be able to care for their family member at home," said Neff, Wesway’s manager of services and community relations.

Wesway – an organization that offers breaks to people caring for others on a day-to-day basis – is one of 16 programs that will see an increase of funding from the North West Local Health Integration Network after the network announced $3 million for their Aging at Home Strategy.

Introduced in 2007, the strategy aims to provide support for seniors and their caregivers in order to help them stay healthy enough to continue to live independently in their own homes. The province is spending $1 billion over four years and the $3 million is the North West’s portion for year three.

For Wesway, the money will allow them to expand their respite program into the Kenora and Rainy River Districts. The program has been in Thunder Bay for 37 years and ventured eastward in 2008.

"We feel our service is making a substantial difference," Neff said. "We’ll be able to support more seniors and help them to remain at home by giving their family caregivers a break from the day-to-day responsibilities of caring for their loved one at home."

She added families have told her that by being able to take the occasional break, it lowers their stress and they’re able to continue that care at home and avoid unnecessary hospital admissions and placements in long-term care facilities.

Other programs supported by the Aging at Home Strategy include transitional supportive housing in Thunder Bay, enhanced interim long-term care capacity and Saint Elizabeth Health Care’s Smooth Transition Program that helps seniors return home after an emergency room visit or hospital stay.

North West LHIN interim CEO Laura Kokocinski said they have been engaged with providers and the public, particularly seniors and the message is loud and clear: seniors want to live at home as long as possible.

"We’ve been working with an advisory committee for senior services as well as providers across the North West to talk to them about what services currently exist in communities for seniors and where t here is gaps in services," she said. "We’ve been working with them to look at strategies to implement in the North West."